Castle-Toppler
by YokohamaBeans
Summary: TobiramaOC. He was used to working with what he disliked. "You and your prostitute-accent make me laugh."
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the real-life concepts of _Yoshiwara_, the _oiran_, nor their practices. I have also officially adopted this story from Odangocha.**

* * *

_..._

_"'Under this moon above the sea, stranded on Heaven's poles are them and me. _  
_The endless night is my lover's lament, as this heartache is my dissent. _  
_I blow the candle and it is no darker, I don my cloak but it is no warmer. _  
_I grasp not these celestial streams, so I turn to sleep to find happiness in dreams.'"_

She meant to repeat words off a passage, but with the melancholy tuning her voice, she might as well have been crooning. It took a second's pause before her delicate hands brought book ends together to signal the end of the lesson. "Memorise it before you go to bed."

Her attention initially paid no heed to the pair of black eyes that quietly followed her to the windowsill where she sat, but as the optical pressure grew by the minutes, she felt obligated to address them with a gentle sigh. A young child then ambled out from behind a desk to plop down beside, allowing the full moon's rays to now bathe both their heads through wooden bars. "Tsutsuji says that all the big sisters here cry that poem when they are drunk. Why?"

"Because being drunk means being truthful," came the reply loftily, "and crying means loving somebody. Especially here, especially us."

_She isn't herself lately_, the girl noted as she continued watching the ethereal, raven-haired woman cast green eyes across the sky like lost nets; she was too absorbed in her thoughts, too empathic in her reciting of literature, too contradictory to what she'd always preach. Only after several more minutes did she reel herself back, but even then a majority of her was still drifting somewhere.

"A bird and a fish can fall in love, but where will they live?"

The odd, sudden question seemed to be directed at anybody in the room but her. "Nee-sama is ill, you're not making sense."

"Yes... Ill... Yes.."

It took a few moments for the statement to really anchor, and her form rose straighter as sobriety and horror seeped in. When her senses were finally assembled, she let out a wry laugh at her own plight that chilled her junior's blood for the first time.

"Love is a fatal disease, Setsuki," she said, turning to stroke the child's blonde hair. "Men spread it, women suffer from it, and I'm already dead."

...

...

...

The moon reigned supreme over the dark sky when it emerged whole again, congratulated with a fare played by the chirps of crickets, squeaks of night-prey and drops of flowing blood. A man's body laid under the sole of a wooden clog, which belonged to a woman whose black eyes gazed down carelessly, indifferently, at stiffening flesh and draining veins.

"Vice-capt'n," another female appeared softly behind with a knee down in respect, "we tried detaining her, but she stabbed her own throat with her hairpin. She's dead."

She disappeared as swiftly after a hand was waved in dismissal, and the woman stepped over the corpse to scrutinise the scattered contents of a bag beside—basic robes and a stash of jewellery; another tragic attempt at elopement. Definitely at the behest of the man; the female, she recalled, was too meek and far too naïve. Why don't the girls learn?

"Men spread it and the women suffer." Brick tiles creaked till she reached the edge of the roof, where the celestial sphere hung unblocked and a gust of wind blew unfettered at her blonde hair. "Why catch it, nee-sama?"

* * *

**Castle-Toppler**

_**Prologue**_

* * *

"Six clans, as of today."

Uzumaki Mito had to run a hand down her husband's back lest his frown make a permanent dent. Senju Hashirama rarely looked so stern, but with the germination of their village and its many problems, she feared that it will be a face to grow accustomed to. Then again, she couldn't be one to complain as the issue they were currently addressing had her own brows dipped in vexation.

"Akimichi, Nara, Yamanaka, Aburame, Shimura, Sarutobi," Uchiha Madara drawled from the windowsill, arms crossed and eyes forming crescents. "Somebody's starting a collection."

"Of adolescent girls," Senju Tobirama scathed, his irritation heightened by the outsider's presence. "For what sick fancy, if _you_ can tell us?"

"I don't know. I don't share that kind of interest with you."

"Bastar—"

"Enough," the only female voice intervened. With success. "The last thing we need now is a petty fight here."

For that, she received the elder Senju's smile graciously. As an additional stopper to personal feuds, two knocks drew attention to the door, where entered a man with an excessively long ponytail and an apprehensive scowl. He bowed with severe respect, reporting lamentingly, "my apologies for the Yamanaka clan's failure; we have underestimated the captured perpetrator's will. He triggered an explosive tag before we could fully execute the Mind Reading Technique, and we were unable to retrieve substantial information. Not even a body for an autopsy."

"Hn," Madara sneered, throwing his head backwards. "Hashirama, none of this would have happened if you had used the Sharingan instead. Look, we lost our only head-start."

"This village includes other clans who want to play a part as well," Tobirama retorted, "in case you forgot, it doesn't revolve around the Uchiha."

"Please," Hashirama pushed himself to his feet, urging the newcomer with desperation, "you mean to say that _nothing_ was gathered? At all?"

The Yamanaka shifted regrettably, "well, we did manage to catch a glimpse of something, but it is so vague I don't know how it can help." He dug in his pocket and stepped forth to place a piece of paper on the desk between everybody for all to see—a sketch of what looked like a decorated signboard. "We don't know its significance, neither do the Nara, and it could very well be a passing frivolity of the kidnapper's memories."

"_'Giku-ya'_..." The Senju leader read aloud, his mind drawing a blank, and looking around, saw that the others did too. "Seems to be a shop."

His wife nodded. "_Chrysanthemum_... a flower shop perhaps?"

"So many shops in this world," his dark-eyed friend scoffed, "where can you even start?"

The only silence came from his brother, who, after a pulling a very pensive scowl, said with the slightest hint of discomfort, "it _is_ a shop... A brothel... in Yoshiwara."

The reactions that followed varied, but nonetheless obeyed a common baseline: surprise.

"Brothel? _Brother-in-law...?!_"

"Yoshiwara?! You mean that legendary red-light district?!"

The Yamanaka simply pursed his lips.

"Ha! Tobirama, _you sly dog_!" Madara was smirking ear-to-ear, "how would you know?"

Inhaling sharply and fervently consoling himself that they now had a lead, the silver-haired Senju pressed his arms tighter to his chest and explained tersely, "I had a mission there when I was young. Brother, you remember, don't you? The Tea Lord's request to kill a courtesan he has accidentally shared sensitive information with. She was from that brothel. Giku-ya, I remember its signboard."

"Oh. Yes, now I remember," if Hashirama didn't know better, he would have sworn that his brother's glare was almost imposing him for support. "I was wondering why they would send a kid to a place like that. Come to think of it, I would like to go there myself"—he felt a sudden tingle on the back of his neck—"I-I mean, for gambling of course. It's a goldmine, I heard"—which grew more intense—"Or maybe I wouldn't want to go there anymore..."—until he silenced himself in a depressive slump.

Satisfied, the woman behind huffed, and the Uchiha's head has never felt less impressed with his rival. _Hashirama, you're whipped..._

Tobirama then cleared his throat, recovering his usual stoic self, "returning to serious matters... Yoshiwara does seem like a viable place to start. After all, all the kidnapped victims are young girls; that business needs a supply. However, it does not explain why they are taking tedious efforts to specially target shinobi clans only. Aren't civilian girls easier abductees? Another thing is that these kidnappers are remarkably skilful at sneaking into clan strongholds. Almost reminiscent of the nefarious Koga Clan, in fact."

"Koga?" His sister-in-law asked, "you think that twisted, savage clan is involved?"

"Maybe, but the perpetrators abduct their victims alive. The Koga would slit their throats while they sleep. A different modus operandi."

"I believe that there must be a more complex agenda and a more terrifying adversary, we cannot make any conclusions yet. We must send somebody to Yoshiwara on a recon mission," the tanned-skin wood-user proclaimed quite greatly, then: "and that somebody isn't me..."

"I can go," Madara offered, the curl in his words ever present, "it will make for an interesting experience."

"No, we have meetings with other unaligned clans, remember? What about the Yamanaka?"

The mind-specialist shook his head. "We, not to mention the other clans, have our hands tied up with residential issues. We do not even have the time to grieve for our missing daughters!"

"That's terrible..."

"Brother, since I've already been there before, why not assign it to me?" The younger Senju suggested, once again drawing eyes to him. Speaking pragmatically (and ignoring the look the Uchiha sent), he reasoned, "if it's a recon mission then a sensor-type like me would be best. Plus, I'm not particularly occupied with anything crucial at the moment. I can do this alone."

"Well, that's true..."

"But what about the children?" Mito raised, "they are blood and flesh of worried families. Is a rescue mission probable?"

"If they are still alive—"

"—which I am sure they are, Madara," Hashirama gritted as he caught the brief agony on the Yamanaka's expression. "Tobirama, please."

"Definitely," he nodded to both long-haired men. "I'll send them back with my Hiraishin the moment I encounter them."

"Remember, this is just a recon mission, only breaching rescue if it's needed." The Senju leader said gravely. He had more trust in his brother's abilities than anybody else, but when confronting anything unknown and unfamiliar, even the strongest can easily lose a step. "Don't engage in anything unnecessarily. I don't expect this to be a short mission, but please return as quickly as possible. With the children, at any chance."

"Maybe you should write back once every two days as well, little brother," Madara drawled, and the Senju could tell that his sarcasm was merely masking an aching envy.

"It is settled," Tobirama declared, "I depart upon sunrise tomorrow."

* * *

**A/N: To reiterate, I've adopted this story from Odangocha, so all original settings and characters are to be credited to her. Readers of the original version must have noted that I have made quite a few changes to it, but rest assured that the flow of the story will remain true to the original, though I will be rewriting everything! Odangocha was a great writer, and I hope that I'll be able to live up to her standards, so I'll really need feedback from both old and new readers alike! :)**

**Castle-Toppler draws influences and is inspired by all Yoshiwara Arcs in_ Gintama_, _Sakuran_, and of course the actual Yoshiwara itself. If you have free time, do search a little more about Yoshiwara and the oiran (courtesans), it's a really fascinating culture and should not be put down simply because it is connected to prostitution! I'll try my best to be as factually accurate possible, though I will take some liberties to accommodate the story! **

**Thoughts, please? :)**

**P/S: The poem at the start is a translation of a classic Chinese love poem, _Looking at the Moon and Thinking of One Far Away_ (望月懷遠) by Zhang Jiuling (張九齡). I've tweaked it a little to make it more rhyming in English! (Shout-out to all fellow Chinese hellaaa)**


	2. A Field of Luck

Arching his neck to return its greetings, Tobirama decided that a trip back in time would only show how seventeen years could force no change to the massive gate of Yoshiwara. The twin pillars shone as redly as they did in the dregs of his memories, and the stretch of tiles that conjoined them gleamed as though they were unacquainted with the wasting of seasonal torrents and tans. The lacquered signboard hoisted atop might have lost some of its shine to dust and wind, but it still beckoned men boldly and unashamedly with its two gold-carved characters.

A 'field of luck', it promised.

When his feet started their sprint away from Konoha, the sparks of dawn have barely pried their way into the horizon. Tobirama never estimated himself to reach his destination before nightfall, especially when all he had for a compass were hazy recollections of routes he'd taken as a child. Thankfully, before he had gotten himself irredeemably lost, his chakra managed to pick out a forest settlement to consult. The Kato Clan, blue-haired and emerald-eyed and gentle-hearted, gave directions that were helpful enough to not only ensure his arrival at Yoshiwara, but also while the afternoon sun was still blazing ferociously up in the sky. He supposed he was a few hours too early; considering the nature of its business, the town was sure to sleep through the day. As if for illustration, the rickshaws and carts scattered around the great gate rumbled with snores, their inactivity brought on by the languor of sparse human traffic. If Tobirama wanted to uncover anything substantial, he would have to wait for the dark, when even the briefest whispers said more than the lengthiest chats under light.

Only after scrutinising the revealed peeks of shops from the wide entranceway did the man realise how one-dimensional his memory of the district was. He could muster nothing of what laid further in it, aside from the basic course of his mission and the gargled half-scream of the target, and even so, these became pebbles buried under much more important advents of the proceeding years. Settling to use the extra hours to re-familiarise himself with the district and perhaps compensate for his lack of leads, Tobirama passed the crimson gate a second time, determined to leave with something or not at all.

* * *

**Castle-Toppler**

_**A Field of Luck**_

* * *

"Hanafuda, mah-jong, lotteries, Odds-or-Evens! Today's a lucky day and you'll be winning so much you'll be buying every oiran in Yoshiwara!"

"The Chronicles of the Sage of Six Paths, this evening at the Kabuki-za!"

"Portrait painting, portrait painting!"

"Freshly roasted: Otsune's famous eels! Sure to boost your virility and have you going two nights long!"

And closely: "good to see you doing well, o-shinobi-san. Our shop boasts top-notch girls at low-rate prices. When we are open—"

Tobirama saved the brothel worker's breath with a curt 'thank you', only accepting his advertising pamphlet with the intention to be left alone. The roads scant with departing patrons from the previous night, it was no wonder that the various businesses approach every man that passed, even if they were dressed in humble clothes that flaunted neither wealth nor influence (as Tobirama was, bereft of fur and armour for a reconnaissance mission). Crushing the piece of paper he took little care to read, he continued his study of the town's mapping, the rows of shops and houses looking more foreign to him with every step. He was the only one within yesterday's meeting who has been here before, but with the vagueness of his memories and the unfamiliarity that surrounded him, this trip might as well be his first.

He didn't have to wait for sunset to be proven that Yoshiwara was a Shangri-La for men (and neither did he want to). In his tour around the quarters and his passing-by of its girls so far, Tobirama could justifiably admit that he has already seen some of the most intriguing shops and the prettiest faces in his life—and all of these during the town's most indolent. It was a city legendary in and for its trade, a word that travelled through the ears and mouths of every man. If he was journeying through it under different circumstances, he would perhaps let himself be fascinated even by the town's appearance alone. The buildings obeyed a traditional structure with varying heights, but to call their decors 'unique' would be an insult; it was as if they were competing to monopolize attention with their outlandish signboards and colourful paint schemes, most of which were shades of crimson. All of them were too striking to be memorable, and this disorientating effect, coupled with the myriad of streets, turned the settlement into a labyrinth in its own right, made to trap everyone under its spell. Come to think of it, he recalled his eight-year-old self being so confused that he needed to ask (or rather, threaten) a residing girl to show him the way out.

The silver-haired man was about to venture deeper in to visit the large fortress nestled at the back of the city—the only infrastructure free of any mercenary chains—when a familiar picture caught his eyes: the embellished signboard of the Giku-ya, down to every flower carved onto it. The sky was still light, but responsibility obligated him to at least check out the premises first, prompting his path to switch directions. Like every other brothel, it had a cage-like chamber at its front, waiting to be filled with the prostitutes available for the night. Before he could discern more about its features, a woman sporting a greying coiffure shuffled out to obstruct his view and path.

"I deeply apologise, my dear sir," she started regretfully, "but all our girls have yet to return from their baths. If you could so kindly return at a later timing, I will promise you our finest pick."

"It does not bother me." Undaunted, he side-stepped her bowed form. "I can wait inside."

"Sir, we cannot entertain that request!"

Tobirama instinctively kneaded chakra when she grabbed his arm, frowning at her sudden detachment from submissive courtesy.

"Please understand," she pressed, urgency stirring in her voice, "our shop is. _Not. Open_."

_...!_

Tobirama could have dismissed her indifferently with a blunt retort, but only if his focus wasn't centred on the alarming proximity of shinobi aura that abruptly revealed itself following the woman's stressed words. Eyes shooting up at the Giku-ya's roof like thrown shuriken, he caught the shadows of two men fleeing with silent feet and a yellow barrel he has seen and memorised before. A yellow barrel that was primarily the reason for his presence here in Yoshiwara.

A yellow barrel used to contain kidnapped children.

"Sir!"

So forceful was his jump that it skewed the woman's balance, and Tobirama had no concern to spare. A launched bullet, he shot his way across tiled rooftops after the backs of the enemies, ready to assault the moment he was within range. They diverged to a less developed sector of the town where the buildings grew duller and less likely to be missed, giving the seasoned Senju warrior every reason to suspect a skirmish. Fulfilling that prediction, the duo darted down into an empty alleyway, their hands slipping into kunai-pouches.

Red eyes slimmed. _As if I'll let you!_

Before the pain could even set in, the ninja in possession of the barrel found his arm ribboned with blood and shuriken, his scream bursting too late. Tobirama was just a metre short of arresting a new captive, but all plans of interrogation were thwarted when a smoke bomb detonated point-blank in his face. By the time his coughs grew weak enough to suppress, he was immersed in purple smog so opaque it cancelled out even sunlight. Like a knee-jerk reaction to the situation, chakra started to mould within, formulating a report of two chakra signatures rapidly heading southwards.

_This chase will not take any longer_, he decided, swivelling around to—

_...see_ a kunai at his throat and _feel_ a rising pressure as wooden clogs came into contact with his left thigh?

His eyeballs strained sideways, catching blurs of blonde hair and a woman's scarred face.

_What__...?_

The surrounding purple smoke now lost its dominion to brown dust, the latter floating up from a crater fissured by a devastating collision of bodies and solid ground. Static ringing was all Tobirama could hear while he heaved himself out of the crevice and jumped to a spot with clearer air, alabaster skin stained by dirt and bruises though fortunately uncut owing to his accelerated reflexes. A rug was pulled under his ever-cautious feet, and the fall left him more disturbed than he'd like. How could there be three when he only sensed two? _When he was still sensing two?_

He discovered with a disconcerted jolt that he now sensed none.

_The kidnappers have gotten away,_ his heart seethed, but his mind was still perplexed with the unforeseen debut of the third perpetrator. Space-time ninjutsu was an initial suspicion, but after recalling the titanic momentum he was blown by and the direction it originated from, he deduced that the woman had simply attacked from a higher ground, enforcing her assailment with chakra he could not detect. Another adept sensor. He realised how much he has underestimated the town, and with a surge of power coursing through his body, vowed to withdraw all leniency he'd shown.

"Senju Tobirama-sama."

A light, feminine voice drifted from within the fog, earning the whipping swivel of a silver-spiked head. Lightning precedes thunder in speed, and so Tobirama was already on a trajectory towards its source before he could register the following words.

"We have neither reason nor time to fight."

He found her standing by the crater they made and she found her neck clutched in his right hand.

The cover of dust and smoke fanned away by the wind that trailed his incursion, the enraged Senju was finally shown a clear view of the female who dared to triumph him in sensing. Trapped under his indomitable grip was a fair woman of his age or younger, and he blinked in pertubation—not at the inch-wide strip of grafted skin stitched from the bottom of her left eye to her left jaw—but at the careless smile floating disarmingly on her lips. He almost failed to notice how she secured leverage with a blade poised at his own neck as well.

"I am not your enemy, Senju Tobirama-sama," she soothed, capturing his widening eyes in her own onyx ones. "We don't have time for this. The kidnappers have already left the city."

And then, she disintegrated. Every cell of and on her, from her loosely-done golden hair to the blue robes that hung off her, darkened to a shade of dirty brown and melted into barely tangible soil, leaving the shocked man grasping soft earth and no sense. Her chakra had melded back into obscurity, and in its place appeared several other signatures, one of which belonged to another woman who knelt before him with all passivity she could display in response to the defensive stance he adopted.

"I deeply apologise for my Vice-Captain's sudden assault. You may not believe this yet, but she meant no harm. We are actually on your side."

Indeed, he did not, but there was assuring sincerity in her speech, attested by the puzzling turn of events, that inexplicably coaxed him into lowering his guard by a miniscule notch.

"Please, we will explain everything later," she continued, rising to level his gaze after deeming it safe to do so. "For now, I implore you to follow me. We have kidnappers to catch."

* * *

He was like a farmer carrying a broken sack of rice, sprinkling grains of blood that lined his way through forest fields, and his companion was torn between relief and apprehension.

"We're lucky to escape with only a couple of scratches," he said, studying the scarlet-soaked arm he didn't possess, "I heard from the Konoha team that Jirobei-senpai got caught by Senju Tobirama in just three moves yesterday. Come to think of it, that's probably how he knew of our mission at the Giku-ya."

The other man was less impressed. "'We'? _You_ try having a shuriken-case for an arm, and we'll see if they're 'only a couple of scratches'."

"...can't you stop the bleeding? We might as well map our route for our pursuers, if there are any."

"It'll take time. I'll wrap it up after we've met up with Gorosaki." His face struggled to grimace and smile simultaneously. "Besides, we'll be left alone; the Tsurugumi and Senju Tobirama are probably keeping each other busy right now. Thank God for those stupid girls to mistake him for their enemy instead of us, if not we'll never be able to sneak out."

Their conversation extended perfunctorily, in which the wounded kidnapper rejected the other's offer to carry the barrel instead, before being halted by the sight of a third colleague nestled on a tree branch half a click away. The burly man acknowledged their approaching shadows by standing up, a hand picking the ropes attached to the large, yellow container beside him. "You're late," he growled.

The one not bleeding darted up front first. "Sorry, senpai, we ran into some trouble."

_...!?_

He was almost cut off—literally—by a kunai flung unwarned by his senior, and barely dodging it, he raised questioning eyes timorously. "G-Gorosaki-senpai...?"

"Inaki, you brainless piece of shit..." the bulky-jawed ruffian boiled with panic and fury, filling his hands up with blades, _"how could you not realise that you've been with the enemy the whole time?!"_

"What?! What are you..." Turning behind fearfuly, Inaki then comprehended the reason behind the sudden assault. One moment, his partner had been clutching at a freshly-lodged kunai in his shoulder, and in the next, he wasn't his partner at all. He wasn't even a 'he'. The transformation jutsu undid itself, leaving a brunette female panting and wincing amidst the dissipating smoke, her arms grappling the yellow barrel possessively.

"A-A Tsurugumi!" Inaki's eyes widened to expose every angry vein in them. _"_You bitch...! You_ tricked_ me!"

"And it is your fault for letting yourself be tricked." The woman knew that her body was far too injured to resist two men in full strength, and yet her scowl soured with determination to at least weaken them for her arriving comrades, even if only by a scratch. Swallowing metallic spit and a rising scream, she yanked the kunai out of her shoulder and held it to her face, trying her best to still its quivers and bracing herself for Inaki's impending rage-fuelled attack.

However, it never came, for a powerful kick was suddenly hammered down his back, the force so colossal that the surrounding air shrieked while his desecrated form lacerated through it to embed itself two feet deep into the ground below. Right before the woman landed a flash of yellow and blue, and she hastened to grieve for her failure. "I'm so sorry, Vice-Capt'n, I couldn't maintain—"

"I should be the one apologising, Shiragiku," the newcomer said, her expression mirroring her words, "it should have occurred to me earlier that our plan was stupid. Sending you to spy on the enemy alone would be far too dangerous, especially when you've never ventured into the outside world before." Her lips then broke into a satisfied smile. "You've done well."

Gorosaki cursed the precariousness of his position as more and more women appeared until they numbered twenty. Some tended to their injured comrade while most monitored him intensely, their hands tightening their grips on the weapons they brought. He'd spectated how vultures anticipated their prey's final breaths before, and now he was granted the experience. They were just waiting to end him.

The woman who had finished Inaki, the kunoichi who had materialised so impalpably, then turned around, revealing a scar on her face which triggered within him multiple warnings shared between his organisation before. "We would've liked to track you guys to a further place where we can perhaps get more information," she divulged sparingly while taking several steps forward, "but I guess it's not possible now."

_'A golden beauty best admired from afar, your heart will stop before you even see her scar.'_ The thug narrowed his eyes with a wry smirk. "The Tsurugumi's Second-in-Command is touted to be almost unrivalled as a sensor, able to detect from lands away and yet remain undetected from a metre within." He squeezed on kunai hilts and slid a foot back. "I never thought it was true until just, when you showed how invisible you, and your little police force, could be."

A bead of sweat trickled down his deepening frown when the maiden inhaled and his every muscle posed for a battle to flee.

"Danna-san, those praises are too kind." She then released her breath and assumed a relaxed posture, and his limbs stiffened even more excruciatingly at the haunting of her smile. "A shame for them to come from maggots like you."

He was electric in his reaction to the shift in her gaze, launching himself to the air and forming hand-seals in flickering motions, gathering enough chakra to execute a potentially fatal jutsu.

Potentially, because he had been focusing on the wrong target.

The second he noticed the incoming, rocketing blur of silver and blue was the second he felt his throat crushing under a vise. All he could see in his next blink was a pair of flaming rubies, and all he could feel in his next twitch was an insufferably overwhelming presence pinning him to fracturing ground by his neck, the pressure so great it did not even permit his split back to bleed.

_"-at,"_ his attacker's voice was a muted clap of thunder, _"ar- -our -o-ives?"_

Sense by sense, Gorosaki swept together fragments of his shattered consciousness in attempt to piece them back, and the picture terrified him. He desperately needed air, but breathing was arduous with punctured lungs and a windpipe that gargled with blood. His hearing oscillated between half-words and deafening ringing, and he was feeling so many different kinds of pain in so many different parts of his body that his brain turned his nervous system off—or was that just his spine crumbling? In the end, none of those mattered when his vision began to clear, when he stared up at a broiling storm he recognised as Senju Tobirama.

"_I asked:_ what are your motives?" The dirt below trembled as red eyes grew slender. "Who are you?!"

Undisturbed by the blood that was coughed onto his hand, Tobirama continued his onslaught. He felt a person striding towards his back, and he didn't need his sensory perception to know that it was the scarred woman from before. _"Speak."_

Gorosaki knew he was dying, and he shared this knowledge with his oppressor by entering a convulsing fit. Amidst the chaos of writhing in agony and losing control over all faculties, his working ear picked out a word he dreaded for the consequences that were sure to follow.

"Medic!"

Tobirama darted to the side as a kunoichi took his position, hovering her glowing hands over the kidnapper's erratically jerking chest. For the first time, he cursed his abundance of strength, reprimanding himself that a pivotal lead could have been lost by his own doing, but loosened slightly when he saw colour and life reversing the man's expiration.

However, Gorosaki did not want to live.

An ominous peaking of chakra shot cold fear through the blonde woman's intuition and struck her in the heart, and she swung an arm and a warning out fiercely. "EVERYONE, GET AWAY! EVEN FROM THE OTHER CORPSE!"

Like a startled flock of birds, the women dispersed and flew into the surrounding trees, and the medic-nin was no exception, abandoning her job and urging Tobirama to flee as well. Sharpening his chakra and tearing eyes back onto the man, he realised from his twisted fingers what was going to happen and instantaneously formed hand-seals in response.

...

There was a blinding eruption of light that spurred all of the females to squeeze their eyes shut in anticipation, but when neither blast nor heat nor obliteration followed, they cracked their sight open again to see the silver-haired man pressing his palms firmly onto the ground, the shadow of two chakra-made domes disappearing and leaving behind its debris of razed grass.

_He contained the explosions in barriers,_ the Tsurugumi realised, and their present leader gave their saviour a grateful nod from the tree branch she stopped in. The calamity was over, and struck with a reminder, she hopped down and sprinted to her subordinates who were in possession of the yellow barrels since Tobirama's intervention. Shiragiku, partially healed and able to act, traipsed towards the congregation as well, recalling the formula used to seal the container from her espionage to perform its reversal. With a bang and diffusion of white smoke, the grey lids of the cylinders popped off, each revealing a pair of young girls.

"T-T-Tsurugumi-nee-sama-tachi!" The duo from the Giku-ya barrel bounded up with outstretched arms and streaming tears, crying about how dark and scary and stuffy it was into the shoulders of the women who picked them up. Meanwhile, the girls who were taken by Gorosaki remained curled in their barrel, cowering in fear and confusion at the hurricane of unfamiliar faces. They retracted even smaller when the sea of women receded to make way for an intimidatingly large man with white-grey hair and red eyes.

Tobirama blinked at their familiar features. "Are you from the Kato Clan?"

They nodded, still frozen but thawing at the hope that he could get them home. A golden head entered their periphery as well, and they nearly flinched when they saw the stitched, red strip on her face.

"Don't worry, you're safe now," she lulled with a smile before turning to address the man. "Thank you, Senju Tobirama-sama."

He was less easy to appease. "I do not need your gratitude. I only want your explanation."

"Indeed."

His chakra hitched with suspicion as he watched her hand reach into her robes, which resembled a plain yukata that ended at her thighs, ultramarine in colour but hemmed in pale blue and fastened by a black obi that flaunted a rectangular knife-pouch in place of a decorative knot behind. Only confirming that it pulled out a maroon kiseru instead of anything hostile did his nerves settle again.

"I sincerely apologise for attacking you so suddenly just now," she started, holding the long, thin pipe out for one of her subordinates to light it, "but you were a disruption."

_"...What?" _

"Well, you _could have been_ a disruption," the woman amended, though to no placating effect. She now rested her other hand on a hip. "We received prior knowledge of the kidnappers' targeting of the Giku-ya, and so we had Shiragiku," she gestured to the respective female, "disguise herself as one of them, orchestrate the abduction and follow them back to their lair, or at least find out where it is or any other information, while the rest of us will be on watch and tailing them. That was the original plan, anyway."

She resumed her account after being replied with silence.

"Everything was going smoothly until you appeared and jeopardised the plan by attacking Shiragiku. To salvage the situation, I had to intervene and pretend mistaking you as the enemy to give the 'kidnappers' a chance to escape so that the plan could continue. The rest is as you know." She took a sip of smoke and exhaled through lips that quirked at the bruises on his skin. "Did I hit you too hard? I'm sorry."

Ignoring her last remark, Tobirama stole several moments to process what he just learned. There were still gaping holes to be filled, and everything was far too alien for him to lower his guard completely, but at the very least he was assured that Yoshiwara was unlikely to be a foe. For now. "Where did you get your information from?" he barked, "what else do you know?"

He was beginning to dislike how relaxed she seemed, beginning to feel irritated at her lack of urgency in answering his questions.

"I will share with you what I have, but now is not the time," she concluded, diverting her attention to the quiet but calming Kato girls before them. "My priority right now is to return the children and see to Shiragiku's treatment." Her black eyes went back to him. "You recognised them. Do you know how we can bring them back?"

Aware of the eagerly hopeful orbs of green latched onto him, the Senju succumbed with a sigh. "The Kato Clan's stronghold is not far away, and I know the route there. You can head back to Yoshiwara with your women while I send these two back to their families. However..."

The surrounding females ruffled at the shift in his tone as he nailed a glare onto their superior.

"I demand that I return to Yoshiwara and when I do, you will explain everything to my satisfaction."

Seconds stilled with contemplation before she spilled her voice, soaked in teasing mirth.

"My time and attention don't come cheap, Senju Tobirama-sama. I hope you're prepared..."

The man deftly caught something she flicked at him, and upon opening his palm, saw that it was a red paper crane.

"Tonight, after the second gong." At his appalled registration that she'd just handed him directions to a brothel, the blonde shifted her weight and puffed on her pipe, and its smoky tendrils danced around her coyest of smiles. "Ask for Setsuki."

* * *

**A/N: Alright here's the first chapter! I do hope I've kept Tobirama in character, and that the descriptions and explanations are understandable and easy to follow! There are a few loopholes and unexplained things here and there, but don't worry, they will be explained more in the next chapter. And how are the OCs so far?**

**And here's a big thank you to **princess thieves of heart**, **tinasan25**, **Tuliharja, OperaGhost11235** and **xXDutchDuckieXx** for the wonderful reviews, and of course, to everyone who has read, followed and favourite this. :') **

**Thoughts? :)**

**P/S: I hope this didn't kill Odangocha's version!**


	3. Silk and Steel

The fleeting pricks on the back of his neck when he entered the doors like a _customer_, and that quarter-leer of the male servant who led him to the only chamber on the fifth floor. Beams and pillars, basked in dizzying shades of red, framing myths and legends inked on walls of paper. The whole house, soaked in stings of saccharine incense and feather-like moans. Girls with powdered faces and rouged mouths, dancing with fans and singing ballads and striking three-stringed instruments. Big trays of delicacies and bigger jugs of wine. More dancing, singing, playing girls, from children to pre-teens to adults. Shimmers of hairpins. Swishing of embroidery. Lewd, teasing chatters. Hollow laughter. Half-lipped smiles. Half-lidded moon-eyes. Black eyes.

"Danna-sama is not amused. Is Setsuki boring him?"

_This wench._

Tobirama sighed.

Separated from his cross-armed form by a table of undisturbed food and alcohol, the courtesan lowered her head, the slight action sounding tinkles of embellishments that made her hair more golden than it was. "Forgive me, I have not been called to service for quite a long time—"

"Dismiss everyone else."

The knots on her face froze.

"Now."

_..._

Only after sensing the exit of every other girl did Tobirama care to reveal his eyes again, and when so, imposed a searing glare onto the beautifully and unnecessarily dolled female opposite him, her kneeling posture concealed by weights of elaborately patterned and coloured robes. He noticed she had painted even her scar away, and the sight somehow fanned the intolerance within which he had been boiling for hours. Back and shoulders as rigid as they were cautious, he roughed out, "I hope you enjoyed wasting my time. I should have stopped all of those needless 'entertainment' the moment you arrived, which may I remind you, was very,_ very late_."

"But I did keep to our timing, danna-sama," her brows rose in mock innocence. "The third gong is still within the period 'after the second gong', isn't it?"

"Stop," he grated, "testing me."

"How fierce..."

"I wish to settle this quickly."

"So do I. However..." Abandoning all servitude, the woman drew an empty cup for herself and tipped the sake-pot over it. "It is no common occurrence that the famous Senju Tobirama-sama grace our humble establishment with his mighty presence. At least allow me to show him a good time?" The pot was set down. "Don't worry, your wife will never know..."

The surrounding atmosphere promptly plunged into hazardous levels, inciting a soft, feminine sigh.

"You're no fun at all... Fine," she dropped the coquettish curl of her voice in favour of one more austere, but her quirking lips seemed to be a permanent feature. A raised finger elicited a blink from him, and what came after wrung his ire. "I'll share with you every single thing I know, but in return," she had a brazen glint he did not fancy, "what do I get?"

At the stubborn line on his lips, she continued, tone ascending with boldness. "I told you before, danna-sama, I don't come cheap, much less free. Furthermore, from what I can see, what I can grasp; my knowledge on the matter outweighs yours. Shouldn't you think that perhaps, I am in the higher position here?"

The stillness of his wine was such that it flawlessly captured every fraction of his narrowing gaze, and she noticed it. Liltingly, the woman proposed, "I can start with your trust."

As she bent forwards to reach for her cup, the familiar sensation of kneading chakra seeped into her attention.

"Woman," his voice started out loftily, "you do know that there are countless methods for extracting information, don't you?"

Incorrect; it demanded her caution.

"...Of course," she managed, albeit shakily, "along with countless methods for preventing it."

He allowed a brief silence for her pulse to collect.

"Then can you prevent me from obliterating this whole building...right now?"

_...!_

Her extended arm did not even dare quiver. This time, Setsuki was robbed of words and motion; it was distracting and she was visualising it, this growing monstrosity. _How is it physically possible to amalgamate such a massive amount of chakra...?_

His threat dripped with intent, and her skin tingled with anticipation.

"To think _you_ could actually expect _me_," a snide edge was audible amidst the danger he breathed, "to play by your rules on equal ground."

A trigger, just _waiting_ to be pulled. Derision and peril was now blatant. "You and your prostitute-accent—"

He unclasped his biceps.

"—make—"

Raw fear resonated through her blood.

"—me—"

The beating in her ears amplified and his dominant hand stretched out.

"—_laugh_."

...

As Tobirama coiled his fingers around cold ceramic, the known clatter of metal slowly drew his attention frontwards, where the gleams of numerous swords, knives and spears reflected his unperturbed, unflinching stare. Though potentially fatal, the lethal nature of the weapons was dulled under the undiluted murderous resolution of the many scowling kunoichi who handled them, having unveiled their presences in response to the Senju's display of belligerence.

And sinking deep into them, having unfurled this plumage, this peacock-fan of blades, was their head, who had retrieved her cup and hovered it before curving lips and below sickle-shaped eyes.

* * *

**Castle-Toppler**

**_Silk and Steel_**

* * *

Crimson orbs slid from side to side, reciprocating the hawkish stares that pressed on them. Experience taught him to always predict concealed guards surrounding discussions with unfamiliar company, but those previous instances could only hope to possess an army with such exceptional hiding finesse. The blonde woman taught her subordinates well; he had sensed the attendance of lurking kunoichi, but the thought of a crowd so large had strayed far from his estimations. Subconsciously, he broke into a smirk.

"Don't move!" An orange head bobbed forwards, probing a spear a feet nearer to him, "how _dare_ you threaten Vice-Capt'n like that!"

Entertaining the teenager with a stare, Tobirama gathered no menace from her and hence served an air of nonchalance—in fact, none of the women were aggressive. On the contrary, they were just incredibly defensive, their hostile behaviour more an effect than a cause, and this knowledge appeased him. Dimming the chakra he radiated and hence greatly relieving the room of its crushing tension, he proceeded to straighten his back and lower his shoulders.

It was to the chagrin of the young female. "I told you not to move!"

Her superior intervened before her spear could inch any closer. "Yuugo, it's alright."

"But—!"

"You're too sensitive. Relax."

The girl could only argue with a reproachful pout and relented, but not before shooting the man another warning glare.

Unaffected, Tobirama shifted his gaze back to the blonde courtesan, liquid-filled ceramic warming in his hand. "Usually, before requesting the trust of others, you offer your own."

"Forgive me, danna-sama," she drawled after moments. "Precautions_ do_ have to be made. We shinobi can never be too careful."

Setsuki flicked a wrist to quell both her women and the palpitation in her chest, consuming a minute for all traces of aggression to withdraw. But even so, her guard dissented to retreat, as intended by the silver-crowned enigma's purposeful show of power. It was a mere warning; she realised with a deepening frown that she was never in and could never hope for the higher position, especially before a man who could so effortlessly exude such frightening aura for the simple objective of establishing his dominance. Signalling her compliance with another sigh, she set her freshly emptied cup down.

"I would say that we've had enough foreplay, but it will probably blow your fuse." The courtesan produced her kiseru from her robes and arranged it for use. "Let's begin with what you have, shall we?"

Female hands inched closer to kept blades when his frown grew more caustic.

"...only joking, handsome."

Tobirama earnestly wondered if she understood what the word 'limit' meant.

"We can take turns. I'll start with how and what I know of the kidnappings. Don't get your hopes up too high, though." There were soft rustles from her kimono as pale legs re-arranged themselves into a more comfortable position. "I take that you already figured out that we, the Tsurugumi, are Yoshiwara's paramilitary police. Our job scope includes keeping every girl in this town, so the kidnappers have posed quite a prioritised problem to us."

There was a slight quaver of regret in her spiel. "I'm ashamed to say this, but we were initially clueless and defenceless, having lost twelve girls over the period of three months. We even tried setting a barrier over the entire district to identify intruders, but it was far too taxing and the kidnappers simply evaded this by taking the children before they entered Yoshiwara and her trade. Pressure was mounting and we were beyond our wits' ends, but at the bleakest moment..." She held a second up to take a sip. "A man and a courtesan fell in love."

Her client was surprisingly quiet given how intolerant he was of irrelevance, and Setsuki saw it as a prompt for her to continue.

"Let's just say that he was identical to how Shiragiku first appeared to you. We discovered what we know from hunting down the eloping couple. The man was vicious in his desperation to escape, and I had to kill him in defence. It was only after the girl's confession of how crucial he was to us that I regretted throwing that kunai."

Wisps of smoke trailed from her pipe, which now laid neglected on earthenware.

"He was competent as a regular kidnapper within the squad assigned to Yoshiwara, but terribly awful as a shinobi considering how he foolishly acquainted himself with a woman of the very city he siphoned from. The combination of love and guilt must make one very stupid, because he also babbled his criminal plans and orders to the courtesan, who, after his death, relayed to us everything we needed to formulate our espionage plan, and just a little bit more." Her eyes then lingered on the emblem his happuri sported, "we actually foresaw visitors and potential allies from Konoha since she was mentioned as a victim along with the four other rising nations, though seeing you was a pleasant surprise."

The Senju blinked as her gaze returned to his, and he noticed hints of apology in it. "This is probably when you're most interested in what I'm saying, but unfortunately, that was all he shared with her. Unless she was withholding information, which is incredibly unlikely." And salvaging his opinion of her, she said with more sincerity than he'd expect, "Like I said, you'll be in for disappointment if you're expecting anything ground-breaking. I'm sorry to be spouting mere revision that you may now find redundant, but I hope it assures you of our source of intelligence."

"…It's acceptable." Silver hair bristled at the reality of her words, but upon preparing his own package of information, he realised that he was not one entitled to exasperation. "At least you had something to work on."

Tearing walls down and sighing cathartically through his nose, Tobirama then threw his crown back and downed the contents of the cup he has been holding, savouring its sweetly bitter notes and his organs' lack of reaction to affirm that it was indeed void of poison. "Fine. You have my co-operation."

He wasn't aware that a smile could weigh so much. The role of the expectant listener was now passed to Setsuki, who reciprocated his patience by puffing languidly on her reignited pipe. It took longer than he'd felt to unlock his jaw, and apprehensively but more uncomfortably, he relinquished every morsel he had.

There was an anticipative silence that hung around after the end of his speech, and catching no continuation, the women slackened their postures.

"That's all?"

"...Yes." Arms crossed defensively at the two words, he watched her struggle for a diplomatic reply.

"How...enlightening to learn the names of Konoha clans."

No retorts were supplied, making for an uncomfortable silence that begged to be filled.

"Well," came the breaker, "what matters ultimately is not how much we have at hand, but how much we can get out of it." Metal tapped on ceramic to release tobacco ashes. "'Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?' We can barely meet the criteria with what concrete information we have, but the conclusions that we have arrived at suffice. More than adequately, if I do say."

It was a bait on a hook, and Tobirama was swimming in circles. He may be the brain behind the strongest man in the world, but the gaps were still too glaring, even with all that he had heard and observed over the course of the day. "Am I not paying you enough, tayuu? I believe I have spoken more than I should."

"The trust you have isn't in us, danna-sama," she returned silkily, the edges of her eyes sharpening, "it's in yourself; the assurance you have that you can singlehandedly deal with all of us should anything happen. Frankly, it's insulting..."

As expected, he offered no denial.

"...but true nonetheless." Her long lashes fell as she huffed, busying her hands with re-filling his cup while she explained. "Unlike most kunoichi, we Tsurugumi did not learn chakra manipulation at birth. Most of us started in our late teens and are probably no better in ninjutsu than a twelve-year-old in your clan..." The base of the pot knocked against wood. "That is why we will need external help if we want to solve this case, especially against enemies like them... Surely you noticed the similarities in their chakra signatures?"

"Are you saying that it's a clan?" Tobirama frowned. "That possibility occurred to me before, but their characteristics are too unrecognisable and vague to—" Catching himself when the realisation hit, he refocused on her knowing smile and conceded with a small smirk, "you are quite impressive..."

"What an honour," she drawled receptively before reverting to business, "indeed, few are able to recognise the signature of the Koga Clan."

The familiar name brought back inklings of the discussion back in Konoha, and ruby eyes inflated. "The Koga Clan? Are you sure? They were also another possibility I thought of, but the kidnappers don't kill the children. Furthermore, no activity from that clan has been reported for a decade. It is widely presumed that they are extinct."

"Just because you don't hear about it, it doesn't mean that nothing is going on. But I don't blame you, or the widespread population—that clan is vile and disgusting, and anybody would hope for their extinction. That hope just transformed into a belief, and hence that presumption."

"And how would you know? You cannot recognise a clan's chakra signature unless you have encountered its clansmen before, the odds of which are lower than being struck by lightning." His gaze narrowed with suspicion when a collection of tensing muscles and tightening fists made rounds amongst the females.

Her reply was stilted. "You just answered your own question, danna-sama..."

It was quite obvious by now, and it opened new doubts within him, although considering the circumstances, it did not call for action. Not yet.

"Your women address you as vice-captain." Tobirama uncoiled his arms and placed his palms on his knees, throat now opening with confidence. "Yoshiwara implores my help, and yet they send only their second-best. Is this the correct decorum?" With finality—"I won't make a decision until I have met with your leader,"—and wariness, "_especially_ when I suppose she's from the enemy clan. Am I right?"

The girl from before was first to react, and she was as fiery as her hair. "Why can't you just trust Vice-Capt'n?! Can't you see that we are all on the same boat?" Though much more muted, the other kunoichi shared her discontent, spreading murmurs and casting unfriendly scowls.

"Everybody, calm yourselves. Your agitation is only fuelling his misgiving. You cannot fault him for how we would feel as well if we were in his shoes." A black-haired woman he recognised as the one who approached him right after her leader's assault during the day, quelled before turning to the blonde, "but Setsuki, are you really going to—"

"I guess it's inevitable, Tsutsuji. We really are at the mercy of those more powerful. Anyway, we do need to consult her." She slipped her hands under the large, obstructing obi tied in front and directed her attention back to the waiting man. "You'll need to wait a little for her to get ready, danna-sama, since your request came a little late."

His expression remained stoic despite the chaotic chirpings that surrounded him. "So be it."

"She is the best that womankind can offer." Setsuki did not conceal her reluctance. "I hope you're grateful to meet Lady Kiyomi, or as previously known, Koga Chiyome."

* * *

_War divides lands, nations, bonds, bodies, humanity, and above all; the strong and weak. The Koga belonged in the league of the latter, possessing potential in the shinobi arts as promising as any other clan on the losing side of the battle. There was no trademark ninjutsu they could boast, the most successful genjutsu they imposed were those on mere civilians, and as taijutsu executioners they injured both their opponents and themselves simultaneously. And yet, the mention of their surname would rile even the most powerful of clans, notorious for solely two things. _

___It was said that should one lay eyes on Koga Chiyome, he would see the loveliest woman in his life, as well as the last. Inheriting the beauty of the moon and perhaps all aptitude of her clansmen, she was touted to be the embodiment of kunoichi perfection. Contrary to her kin, she excelled in all three areas of jutsu and could very well be refining a fourth. She could stab a man under broad daylight and then charm him into believing that she did not. Her being was an eclipse; rare to sight and obscuring anything bright with her own radiance. A myth that men desired to prove and women denied—and she owed such elusiveness to her flair for sensory perception and manipulation, attributes that her clan needed for the practice they were dreaded for._

___The Koga were described as the lowest point of mankind. They thirsted for dominance more than any other tribe, but were unable to satiate themselves with the mediocrity of their majority. Triumphed over by many other clans in direct confrontations, the only chance for sovereignty was if the world dwindled on shinobi talent or if strong bloodlines became extinct, and they were determined to turn that chance into a certainty. _

___A new tragedy then plagued the already disastrous era. It started with the weaker clans; men and warriors fresh from battle, regardless of their victories, would return home to deep slashes adorning the throats of their motionless wives and children, and the few guards who stayed behind could offer no explanation. A trend began surfacing: while the fighters were busy with war, the assailants infiltrated strongholds and massacred the clans' most defenceless—child-bearers and adolescents. The tribes accused their usual rivals until a Koga was caught, and under interrogation, he revealed their savage dogma: women birth infants who grow up strong, forming the basic source of every clan's power, and the Koga's method of elimination was to slay the roots and deprive the tree of life. They brought blades down upon the most innocent, murdered children before their mothers and vice versa and turned the safest places into the most dangerous, all without remorse and filled with glee._

_"...and that summarises the Koga Clan," Senju Butsuma concluded, digging his arms deeper in__to the sleeves of his robes, "but don't concern yourselves too much with them. Endangered clans pose no threat to us."_

_"But have you listened to yourself talk?!" Short, black hair bobbed indignantly. "They sneak into houses and slaughter babies! And women!"_

_"Mind your manners, Hashirama." The Senju Clan Head growled warningly at his heir, his clenching fists hidden by fabric. "Yes, and for their repulsive actions, they were beaten into submission, and hopefully soon, extinction. The only good they did was to form the largest temporary alliance in this era, clans united by their common contempt and intolerance for them and the goal to erase every last Koga animal on Earth."_

_"I heard that infants and children were killed off first during their assault," offered Tobirama. His arms were crossed habitually, but the grip they had was noticeably harder._

_"A necessary evil...and justice."_

_"That's... that's just so messed up..."_

_A heavy silence befell the tatami-matted chamber and cumbered the lesson conducted between the family. For a veteran like Butsuma, the topic of murder affected him no more than a needle-prick on the finger did. He was ready to continue but upon looking around at all four sons, he permitted a moment for sobriety. Hashirama's twisted grimace, Kawarama's grappling fists, Tobirama's elongated sigh and Itama's woeful sulk; a part of him wished for them to grow numb to death and yet the other did not._

_Kawarama was the one who pierced the tension muzzling his brothers. "What about that kunoichi? That Koga Chiyome?"_

_"Word has it that she died in that fateful attack, as with most Koga," said their father, gentler this time. "But for one so sly and powerful, I wouldn't be surprised if she survived and is living life in secrecy, perhaps plotting revenge for her brethren. That is why us men must always be on guard around women, or anybody for that matter, outside our own kind." He capped the discussion with a sigh and shuffled the parchment laid between himself and his children, returning to his usual posture after arriving at the appropriate clan emblem._

_"Next up is the Hagoromo Clan. There are rumours of an alliance between them and the Uchiha, so we must be prepared for another onslaught..."_

* * *

A celestial beauty as according to lore; hair as lush as midnight and eyes as green as the women who envied her.

Koga Chiyome was sat within the humble setting of a gloomy library and upon an old cushion behind a chipping floor-desk, and she graced her seat like an empress in her throne. She was guarded like one as well; the Senju was surprised by how many barriers there were between his current and previous location. He remembered the brothel as being five-storeys high, and yet he was directed to a sixth after Setsuki summoned a door which opened to a flight of stairs that was physically impossible to be integrated into the infrastructure. And where it led to was the first of five sealed doors, the last of which was guarded by a large ninja-crane. Tobirama could not help but juxtapose it against how easy access was to his brother, and upon catching sight of the regal lady, he registered the reason for security.

The myth was smouldering. Porcelain was turning into paper—what used to be white, supple skin was now yellowing, creasing and loose. Instead of gold, her ebony hair was now streaked with silver and there was nothing fancier than plain cotton-silk robes on her shrinking body. However, what caught Tobirama and softened the expressions of the women was the weakness in her being, so far from her legendary prowess. Her face was gaunt, her eyes pouched, and her movements slow, and her Koga-tinted chakra was about as strong as the flickering candle-lights that surrounded them. And despite it all, her beauty was still surreal, perhaps too much so. Age could not rob her of her natural augustness and dignity as her head was still held up high and her jade eyes still encompassed him wholly and firmly. The Senju's second had to fight a tingle at the crooks of his legs that suggested them to fold and kneel.

"Senju Tobirama," her voice resonated in the manner that genjutsu did, "you exceed the intelligence that fames you."

He had her gaze locked. "I'd say that I'm more observant than intelligent."

"Setsuki has explained everything to me." In line with her words, the blonde woman strolled past him and settled a metre beside her superior, the closest among all her subordinates. "I apologise for sending a representative instead of greeting you personally; as you can see, my body is a husk of its former glory..."

In the next few minutes, Tobirama understood that the lady was stricken with a debilitating illness that has weakened her so much she could barely leave her room, the last occurrence of which was five years prior. The sole visitors she has received since then were her Tsurugumi, and even so, she could only entertain them for rare and short periods of time. During her explanation, his eyes swept across the worried faces of the women who fenced them._ No wonder they were so agitated when I requested to meet their leader. _They stopped at a pair of black orbs, and he noted how the blonde harlot had toned down so much in assertiveness before the greater female, how docile she'd suddenly become. It wasn't out of fear or the like; he saw how she watched her. It was obedience chiselled out of pure, unadulterated respect and adoration, the kind that people develop for Senju Hashirama, or perhaps even stronger.

He shifted his attention back to the raven-haired woman. "I apologise for disrupting your rest, Koga—"

_"Kiyomi."_

"—Lady Kiyomi. But it was necessary for me to speak to you, a Koga, especially when your subordinate has stated that your clan—or should I say, your_ former_ clan is likely to be the perpetrator."

The slow, deliberate way she blinked and moved reminded him of a doll carefully given mobility by its child owner. "You are hoping for an insight of their motives and whatnot. Setsuki has already approached me for this," she sighed pitifully, "but alas, ever since I faked my death in the Koga Massacre, I have disavowed any association to and information about the clan. Time changes everything. Clans evolve and surely, the Koga will be no different, as apparent from their new approach of abducting instead of killing, and I cannot make any guesses on what their current standing is. My allegiance is now completely and irrevocably sworn to Yoshiwara, I can assure you that. I will gladly aid investigations at the drop of a hat, but unfortunately, there is not anything new and helpful that I can provide..."

"I see..." Her answer was one of the many that Tobirama had anticipated, but it still washed him in a wave of disappointment. At the very least, he supposed that a base of trust _could_ be built between them right now. Possibly. Before he could brainstorm on his next course of action, the elder's voice rang again.

"However, if you are to agree..."

Ruby blinked at emerald and onyx.

* * *

_Brother,_

_I have been in Yoshiwara for a day, and I can determine that they are not the enemy. The Koga Clan is. It is difficult to explain the situation in a note, I will do so when I'm back. I will be conducting further investigations in other lands with the help of a woman from the district, who happens to be a very good sensor, and we are hoping to locate the clan's base with her skills. What comes after will be decided then. Stop worrying and thinking about uncertainties. I leave the village in your hands._

It was signed with the seals of both Konoha and Senju for verification, and Hashirama was placated enough to set the scroll aside and resume his vetting of the mountain of paperwork stacked around him. But no matter how much his eyes scanned printed passages on treaties and policies and sanctions, his mind could only register the scrawls of Tobirama's ink. The Koga Clan? Were they not extinct? And for such a savage clan to be kidnapping girls... A twisting cold evacuated his insides and a plan to rendezvous with his advisor began to form.

A squawk from his right drew coal-eyes to a tawny hawk perched atop a pillar of books, the avian he recognised as his brother's. _'Stop worrying and thinking about uncertainties'_, the familiar baritone resounded in his head, and the Hokage could feel warmth returning to his chest. Yes... Tobirama was right, he had to focus on the village and leave that matter to him. Surely, even he will be able to think of a way to salvage the worst-case scenario, and he mentioned keeping competent aid with him. Besides, since nothing concrete has been discovered, all fears and panic should be unwarranted. The best he could do right now was to wait for further updates and come up with a counter-strategy if needed.

And so, finally able to digest what the Fire Daimyo was requesting, Hashirama picked up his brush and prepared to respond accordingly until another thought surfaced.

_Tobirama's with...a prostitute...?_

* * *

**A/N: Alright, this chapter is really heavy on dialogue and new information. I hope it's process-able at least! And with the number of OCs I think this fic's showing shades of a spin-off hahaha. OK back to the topic, I hope that explanations, character intentions and the general flow of the happenings is consistent and believable so far! There are still/new gaps here that will be explained in the next/later chapter(s), so do stay tuned! And am I keeping Tobirama and the canons in character? What do you think of the OCs and the plot so far? Concrit will be greatly appreciated, 'cos I'm a little shaky in this chapter...**

**Once again, a huge thank you to **tft4**, **Tuliharja**, **tinasan25** and **OperaGhost11235** for the reviews and everyone who has read, followed and favourite this! It really brings a smile to me to see familiar usernames hahaha :') **

**Thoughts? :)**


End file.
